Avatar Mimi: Light and Darkness
by healylite
Summary: AU. Police officer Mako pulls a broken girl out of a rundown apartment in Republic City. 16 year old Mimi has been isolated her whole life and her bending suppressed by her parents, but now she's discovered to be the long-lost Avatar. TW: abuse, depression, suicide
1. Chapter 1

Avatar Mimi: Darkness and Light

(Title is a placeholder)

**Genre**: Action/Adventure/Friendship/Dark, maybe some Romance

**Summary**: AU. Police officer Mako pulls a broken girl out of a rundown apartment in Republic City. 16 year old Mimi has been isolated her whole life and her bending suppressed by her parents, but now she's discovered to be the long-lost Avatar. TW: abuse, depression, suicide

**Notes:** Takes place in Republic City 70 years after the events of ATLA. Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Asami are three years older than they are in the original Legend of Korra. In this story, Mimi is the avatar instead of Korra and the Equalist Movement is on the rise. All of the love drama that happened in the original series happened here, and in this story Korra and Asami have already confessed their feelings to each other and started dating.

I only watched the first two episodes of season 2 and missed an episode here and there in seasons 3 and 4 so please bear with me! I'm trying to be as in character as I can! Also I never write romance so let me know if anything is super off...the only pairing confirmed right now is Asami/Korra right now anyway. Maaaybe will do Mako/OC? (Let me know after chapter 2 if that sounds like a good idea...)

This first chapter might be weird because I wrote it in first person POV and then changed it to third person, but I hope it turned out okay...I wrote this story on a whim so I'm still figuring a lot of things out.

Please let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy the story!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Legend of Korra or the ATLA Universe. Also that song that Mimi sings is from Shadow the Hedgehog, Chosen One. I don't own that either!

[Mimi's thoughts are in italics only in chapter 1, not in the prologue.]

**_Prologue_**

"Mimi, take this to your mother." Mimi's father placed a mug onto the discolored kitchen counter that no amount of cleaning would ever fix. The five year old girl climbed onto a stool to reach the mug, and carefully stepped off after she secured it. Making sure not to spill even a drop, she stepped through the corridor towards her parent's room in the small apartment.

She didn't want to disappoint them. Not again. She didn't want to leave this family like the others. She didn't want them to throw her away. Even though she was only five, she could read the glances that the adults who took her in always made. Sometimes she'd even hear it.

_Such a dumb child._

_Such a clumsy child._

She took one more step, but the mug accidentally shook a little bit. She gasped as the liquid inside splashed outside.

Shedidn'twanttodisappointthemshedidn'twanttodisappointthemshedidn'twanttodisappointthem-

Without thinking about it, she moved the mug to her left hand and clenched her right hand into a fist, imagining her new parents screaming at her when they found out that some of the tea fell on the floor. But before her eyes, the small amount of liquid stopped midair.

In wonder, she moved her hand and focused her eyes on the tan liquid. The liquid moved up as she moved her hand up, and she waved it in a half circle movement so that it swirled back towards the cup, and joined the rest of the tea.

A visible sigh later, and a small smile to herself that she fixed the problem all by herself, she took a step forward and looked up again. To see her mother in front of her with a look of shock and disgust on her face.

Her mother raised her hand, and in a deliberate motion slapped the girl as hard as she could. The mug crashed to the floor, breaking into pieces. The tea that Mimi tried so hard to save seeped into the wood.

She could see the look of pure disappointment and regret about adopting her on her mother's face through her blurred tearful vision.

And later, she could make out muffled raised voices while she was locked in her room. They were fighting about her. They were fighting because of her.

...Why couldn't she ever do anything right?

She would change...She would be everything they wanted her to be. So they wouldn't give her away, she'd be perfect.

_**Chapter One:**_

The room was quiet. Mimi's mother and father haven't visited for hours. It's been longer and longer in between visits these days. From her spot on the cold metal floor, all she could see through the metal bars was the wooden bedroom door. It's been a long time since she could go through it whenever she wanted to. Mimi wondered what her reflection looked like now.. She wondered when the next time her mother would come for a singing lesson. Those lessons were the only time she was allowed out of the cage.

_I want to be normal. I want to be normal so that I can make them proud of me. I don't want to scare them. I don't want them to think I'm a monster. _

She didn't know what bending was, but her parents were convinced that she could do it. Her father once told her that they are very sad because a bender killed someone they loved very much. Mimi was sure it was the girl they had pictures of in the livingroom. The pictures have been there longer than her. The girl was really pretty. She had long straight black hair that looked just like Mimi's mother and she looked very pale just like her, too.

Mimi didn't look anything like her parents. Her hair was brown and wavy, and her skin was darker than theirs, a light shade of brown.

_I wonder when they'll come again._

_I'm so lonely here._

_And it's so cold._

The curtains were drawn. She wasn't able to tell if it was day or night anymore. She used to be able to distinguish the difference, but now it always looked dark.

Mimi started to shiver and outstretched the palm of her hand. A flame sprung forth from it, and she curled her legs and kept it close to warm herself. It was a very small flame, like that of a match. She used to to be able to make it as big as a campfire, but she felt weaker and weaker everyday.

The bedroom door squeaked open, and her mother appeared. "It's time for your singing lessons, darling-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Even though Mimi was tired, the scream terrified her. She tensed up and kept repeating the word 'no.' He mother left the room for a moment and then returned, and the next thing the girl heard was the familiar sound of the key turning when the cage door opens. Her arm was grabbed painfully, and Mimi cringed as the flame disappeared. She missed the warmth.

_I deserve it. I'm not being a good daughter. I'm supposed to love her but she scares me. Father scares me too. I'm so glad he's at work right now._

* * *

><p>Tears were falling down her face again. She wondered at the the sensation. Since everyday was exactly the same, how was she able to always cry about it? She was sick of crying.<p>

"Come on, darling," said her mother impatiently, dabbing at her daughter's eyes with a handkerchief. Mimi was seated on a wooden stool in the livingroom wearing a red velvet dress that her mother had assisted her with. She needed help to put it on because her legs were in so much pain that it was difficult to move them. Her mother held up a mirror in front of Mimi's face to show her the result.

Her wavy brown hair was tied neatly into a bun, and her mother styled it with an elaborate rose hairpiece. She sniffled as she looked at the mirror, brown eyes blinked back tears.

It didn't look pretty. The red color of the dress reminded her of the blood it was hiding. She breathed hard, even though she know her mother would get annoyed. Her hands and feet were tied with rope so she couldn't do any bending.

_It hurts._

_Everything hurts._

"You look beautiful, just like a star. So act like it." Then, under her breath, she continued, "Lilly never gave me this much trouble." Mimi never met Lilly, but she knew it must have been the girl in the pictures that her parents lost. "Now start from the top!"

She tried her best to sing, but it was never as good as her mother wanted it to be. She wished this Lilly was here, doing her own lessons, going for her own dreams. But then she wouldn't have her mother, or father, or anyone.

Her singing sounded just like screams to her, repeating over and over, sounding more raspy every time. Her voice wasn't that loud, so she had to keep repeating every verse until her mother was pleased with the sound.

Finally, back behind the metal bars, she wondered what her dream was. She swirled her arms to make the drinking water from the bowl move and started singing in a low voice, so no one could hear. '_Wish I may, wish I might, be someone else tonight. Sometimes I wish I was never born at all._'

She let the water bubble she created float in the air, before it popped, and heard her voice sing back at her.

And then she felt guilty. That bubble trick made her feel better, to let her thoughts out somehow, but it was what her parents hated. She was locked up right now because they wanted her to forget bending, not learn how to do it more.

_Why can't I listen?_

_Why am I such a bad daughter?_

* * *

><p>Their visits were rare now, but each one had become worse than the last. Her legs never recovered fully. She had become used to seeing smeared red all over her body.<p>

What difference would it make...if everything was over?

If maybe the next time her father hit her, she blacked out and never woke up again.

_I wish I wasn't here._

_I wish I wasn't alive._

She barely had the strength to sip from her water bowl.

_I'm such a failure of a daughter._

_I should just die. It would be easier for me. It would be easier for them._

She could barely make a flame anymore.

She used to have dreams of a man with blue tattoos over his body and a shaved head teaching her movements and stances. It was because of him that she learned how to make a flame, and because of him she could make a breeze and move water around. The dreams were always short but now they didn't appear anymore at all. Seeing him used to make her feel peaceful. Now she was even more scared, alone, and weaker than ever, and even something her mind made up to make her feel better had left..

She wondered if her parents came to see her when they were having a bad day. Maybe they hoped every single day that she was not a monster bender anymore, but every single time they were disappointed.

She heard the door opening. With all her strength, she pushed her body up against the metal bars behind her so that she could sit up. This time, both her parents came inside the room. Her mother smiled at her, but it didn't reach her eyes.

It was dark and Mimi could only see them from the light in the hallway. Her mother's eyes looked blood red to her, but it was probably because she saw that color in everything now.

A crushing fear rushed through her. She didn't want them to hurt her.

_I don't want them to hurt me. I want to die. I don't want them to hurt me._

_I want to die. I want to die. I want to die-_

_I don't want them to hurt me-_

The key in the lock turned, and the cage door opened. Her mother reached for her. Suddenly, a vision of the man with the blue tattoos flashed in the girl's mind and she felt a strong urge not to let her parents hurt her. She screamed a protest in the loudest voice she had ever screamed in her whole life and tried her best to do a stance that would make a gust of air to push her mother back.

Her mother's face twisted and became scarier than she had ever seen it. "That's it! That's it!" she screamed. Mimi felt a sharp pain from the back of her head. Her mother dragged her by the hair to the kitchen, with her father close behind. "I've had it with you!" She was crying now, just like Mimi was.

Her mother reached into the kitchen drawer and let go of her daughter's hair. Without the support, Mimi fell onto the floor.

After searching through the utensils, her mother picked up a kitchen knife. Mimi's vision blurred. "NONONONONONO" she screamed, but was slapped with the blunt edge of the knife. Searing pain ran through her head.

"SHUT UP! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Mimi heard her screaming and then saw her looking at her husband. "It was a mistake. We never should have adopted her. How-how could we harbor a bender? A monster?"

"Stella..." Her father closed his hand over her mother's free one.

_Maybe he will stop her. Maybe Father still loves me._

"A bender killed our Lilly. What-what were we thinking,Chen? A bender can never be family." She laughed and it sounded scary, twisted. Mimi's vision was blurry and she struggled to maintain consciousness. "But I found a way to fix it. If we chop her arms and legs off, she can't bend anymore. Then she can finally be the daughter Lilly can be. Then we can love her."

_No. She can't. NO. NO NO NO NONO._

"No, Stella." He shook head. _Please stop her, Father. She's crazy. Please don't let her hurt me._ "If we do that, how will she become a performer? Who will see her if she has no arms and legs?"

Her heart dropped again. Her father didn't care, either.

Her mother's eyes sparkle, the way it always did when she had an idea. "That's fine. She'll just make records and we can sell them. The records are popular with folks these days."

"Yes, that's true honey. You take the arms, I'll do the legs."

"It won't take long, Mimi, hold still now," said her mother.

"NO!" Mimi screamed loudly as the knife touched her skin, and then her mind went totally blank.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Wow, thanks so much for the follows/support so far! This is actually the first time I tried and published a dark fic and I'm still trying to figure out the direction I'm going. I don't have any friends into the series which sucks because my memory is really bad. Seriously if anyone has any suggestions, I really need ideas! ^^ I had this written up earlier and am really busy with school, so my updates are going to be really slow. But please let me know what you think of this chapter! Also I decided to make Korra and Asami more minor, and I think I might take liberty with the story arcs and villains so it won't be necessarily the same. A lot of the characters will be there but probably playing different roles._

_Review Replies:_

_Guest: Thanks for leaving a review! Ah, I'm so glad you thought it was dark! Since this is my first time writing something like this! I think a child would've worked better too haha, wish you were there when I wrote this first draft XD but either way I think I was pushing it by changing the ages..._

_Hirakohs: I'm so glad you found it interesting! I hope you stick with it because I need any advice I can get and that's a really good point, I need to think more about the spiritual side of things. Mako actually interacts with her this chapter a little bit (not much) but I'm still not sure if I should pair them up...but I really like Mako/OC in general...if you know any fics to recommend please let me know! thanks so much for the review!_

[Book One: Force]

_**Chapter Two:**_

It was the middle of the night, and as usual, the office was deserted. Mako groaned as he finished signing another document and slapped it on top of an already large stack of paper. He cursed under his breath since he used too much force and the stack fell over. Cheif Bei Fong always left him the grunt work. He'd be damned if she ever stayed behind to do paperwork of all things!

The phone rang, and Mako instantly leapt towards it and picked up the receiver. Finally, some action! A concerned man was on the other line, complaining about screams coming from the apartment nextdoor. Mako assured him he was on his way, quickly noted the address and then jumped into a police vehicle.

At this time of night, there were barely any cars out and it didn't take long at all to reach the apartment complex. It was a rundown part of the city, an area that Mako certainly didn't miss living in.

* * *

><p>Mimi's mother and father had been slammed against the opposing wall, as their daughter floated before them, eyes completely white. An incredible amount of energy surrounded her, lifting the furniture and appliances in the room and hurling it in all directions. And just as suddenly as her power came, it faded, and she slumped back onto the adoptive parents were covered in bruises from the impact, but they weren't fatal.<p>

Her father stood up first, protectively helping his wife up, and then his face contorted in rage. "YOU MONSTER!" He grabbed the knife and was about to lunge at Mimi when they suddenly heard a police siren. Red and blue flashing lights came through the window, reflecting throughout the room.

"We have to get out of here," Chen said quickly His wife nodded. They knew that no matter what they said they would be thrown in jail. The government was run by benders. The police force enforced the laws by bending. Even though they believed they were in the right and that they were getting rid of a threat, they would be punished for it.

They grabbed whatever valuables were closest to them and fled the building through the fire escape, abandoning the body on the floor. She wasn't their problem now. They tried to fix her, but in the end she couldn't be fixed.

Seeing that monster with the terrifying blank white eyes and unlimited power solidified it for them.

The only thing they did wrong...was keeping her alive this long. That was a mistake. That creature only deserved death. All they were doing was being good parents and teaching her what was right and wrong so that she could become a functioning member of society. But now they knew. That thing that lived in their apartment was not their daughter and never would be.

* * *

><p>Mako knocked on the apartment door. "Police, open up!" He waited a few seconds. There was no response. "Police! If you don't open up, I'll have no choice but to use force!" When no one answered, he kicked the door open and spawned a flame onto the palm of his hand just in case whoever inside was dangerous.<p>

It was dark inside, but because of his firebending, he was able to make out his surroundings. There was definitely a scuffle. The kitchen was in disarray, and the dining room and chairs were knocked around. There was a huge crack in the wall opposite the kitchen, as if something was hurled against it at maximum force. But how could anything make such a huge dent in the wall?

"Is anyone there?" called out Mako. "It's the police!"

"H..e...lp..."

Mako immediately tried to find the source of the voice. It was a small, quiet, feminine voice. So soft, he wasn't sure if he even heard it. "Who is it? Are you hurt? Where are you?" He pushed some of the rubble and furniture that was scattered away, until he found a severely wounded teenage girl behind a fridge that had fallen sideways. His eyes widened at the girl's condition, and he swore inwardly. "You'll be alright, miss. You're safe now. I'll get you help."

Mako pulled out a walkie talkie off his belt. "Chief. I need paramedics asap, over."

His device crackled to life, as Chief Bei Fong asked for the address.

"I don't think it's a good idea to move you, but help is on the way," Mako informed her. He searched the apartment quickly to make sure no one else was there before returning to the girl's side. He held onto her hand until he could hear the familiar noise of the ambulance, and paramedics rushed into the apartment...

* * *

><p>The girl awoke slowly. Her eyes blinked, and she didn't seem to be aware of her surroundings. She screamed and thrashed around. Mako was warned about this by the doctor and the nurses. She passed out shortly after the paramedics arrived, and was under constant supervision at the hospital for two days. Her injuries weren't healed all the way, especially her legs, and most of her body was covered in bandages. She had torn out the IV drip that she was connected to the first time she woke up, causing all the machines to go haywire. The doctor had run in because the machine for her heart rate had flatlined, but when he entered the room, he was baffled to find that it had been flung across the room. He ended up concluding that the girl's trauma and confusion had given her a sudden burst of strength. Her energy had been spent after that incident, but her recovery began speeding up and she was able to stay conscious for longer periods of time by the third day.<p>

The hospital staff kept the police department updated on her progress, and that night Mako was able to come visit. He wanted her to recover, but the Chief was on his back about filling out the report, which meant he had to ask questions while her memory was still fresh.

An investigation was already underway about the owners of the apartment, a middle aged couple by the names of Marisa and Shou, but the chief suspected that those were fake names, and there was no record of the couple having a daughter. Either way, the couple was missing and Bei Fong wanted more details, so he had to get some answers.

"Don't worry," said Mako in a tone he hoped was reassuring. "You're in the hospital. I just wanted to ask you a few questions about what happened."

She turned her attention towards him, eyes wide and full of fear. The first thing she noticed was the red scarf that hung loosely around his neck. He gave a small sigh and stepped forward with his report attached to a clipboard.

Her mind froze and all she could see was the red, the color of the blood, the knife her mother was using on her splattered with it...

She flinched instantly, and she moved her bandaged arms in front of her protectively. "No! Get away from me!"A blast of air suddenly swept him off his feet, completely taking him by surprise and he fell face first onto the floor.

"Whoa," was all he could muster, as he quickly put things together in his head. "You're an airbender?!"

"I'm not-I'm not a bender!" she said, frightened. "Who are you? Where's mother and father? What did you do to mother and father?!" Her voice rose in pitch.

Mako pulled himself up. This interrogation really wasn't going as he thought it would. Even without the airbending part. "I'm a police officer. The name's Mako...I guess I probably should've started with that. You were alone in the apartment where I found you. Did you live with your parents?"

"I...I...ungh!" She clutched her head. She saw a vision of a knife in front of her and the blunt side slamming into her face, and then her mother screaming and laughing and crying at the same time...and that red color, everywhere... "NO! GET AWAY! DON'T HURT ME!"

"What? I won't-GAH!" Mako involuntarily screamed as a gust of wind, more violent than before, threw him backward. It was harder to recover this time, and his eyes widened as the girl bended the air around her again, propelling her backward through the window and shattering the glass into thousands of pieces. Her brown eyes seemed dead, staring forward at something that wasn't there.

"No way...dammit!' He scrambled to get to the window, looking wildly to see if there was a body. He saw red on the ground. A trail of blood led away from the remains of the window. A figure in a red stained hospital gown was slowly crawling away. The girl was using her arms to push herself forward. There was no way she could get that far.

He turned away from the window and ran as fast as he could down the stairs and out the building. The chief was definitely going to chew him out if she found out about this.

* * *

><p>Everything was all mixed up. Mimi's body was hurting all over, and her mind was a mess. Those white walls, the white tiles, that wasn't home. That man in the uniform- officer? What was an officer?<p>

She hurt him. She used her bending. She didn't mean to. Shedidn'tmeanto. She wasn't supposed to use bend. She wasn't a bender. She couldn't bend. She was normal.

"_YOU MONSTER!" _Her father's scream echoed in her mind.

No. No. That wasn't her father. He wouldn't say that. He loved her. She needed to get away from that voice. Without thinking, she instinctively air bended towards the ground, pushing her forward by several yards.

She'd find them. She'd find her parents. They must be around somewhere, looking for her, worrying that she left home. She was a good daughter. She'd go back to them.

"Mother? Father?" she called out weakly. Her airbending kept pushing her forward. She landed painfully every time, but she tried her best to ignore it.

"_Louder, darling. I can't hear you," _went her mother's voice, that she had heard a million times during their lessons.

"Mother? Father?"

"_LOUDER!" _An image of the palm of her mother's hand, and the loud sound that always came from it. She had stopped feeling those a long time ago.

"MOTHER! FATHER!" she screamed out, now in a narrow alleyway. Behind the heaping trash piles, a man emerged. He threw a cigarette onto the floor and crushed it with his foot.

"What's with the racket? You lost, little girl?" he rasped, coming closer until he was right in front of her. He lifted her chin with his boot. "I'm in a bad mood, you know? My girlfriend just broke up with me, but here you are screaming your head off." He grinned at the sight of blood all over her. "She had the same design on her dress. You shop at the same place?"

The man was slowly coming into Mimi's focus, images of her parents fading away from her vision. "W-who?"

His smile grew wider. "I'll play with you. We'll have a real fun time." He moved his boot and stomped on the ground. The earth below her started to rise until she was on a small platform, and then he moved his hand forward to push the platform onto the side of a building. The platform disintegrated and he reformed the earth into spikes, which tore into the fabric of the gown and stuck to the wall, pinning her.

...her mother and father weren't anywhere around.

She was all alone.

She didn't resist. Her legs just felt numb, like deadweights, and the pain that she should've felt was gone. Tears fell down her eyes.

A vision of a kid, wearing a short orange cape over yellow clothing. He was bald and had a tattoo of a blue arrow on his head. He was saying something, but she could barely make it out. _"...ive...p! Don't give up!_

* * *

><p>Mako stopped. The blood trail ended, but that couldn't be. Where did she go? "HEY KID!" he called out, hoping he'd get an answer. He scanned the ground for more of the telltale red color, and saw more blood several feet away. As he continued going forward, the blood was becoming more and more spread apart. Just how far could she have gotten?!<p>

"MISS! KID! ANSWER ME IF YOU HEAR ME!" A bum on the street drinking from a beer bottle gave him the finger. Mako paid no attention to him, and pulled out his walkie talkie.

"Chief. We've got a rogue airbender," he muttered into it, while he followed the thinning out trail.

"_A rogue what? Save your practical jokes for your own dime, officer," _the walkie talkie grumbled back at him. Mako groaned. It wasn't even Lin paying him. He was on the Republic City government's payroll.

"I'm serious. The vic I was questioning is an airbender. She escaped from the hospital. I'm looking for her right now, but I might lose her. We need to search the immediate area," he informed her.

"_...how the hell do you lose an injured victim is beyond me. Backup is on its way." _Her irritation didn't really faze him, but he could tell that she was just choosing to ignore the airbending part.


End file.
